Google is taking on the iPhone.
At an event this morning in San Francisco, the web advertising giant took a huge leap into hardware with a range of new products aimed at taking on, and beating, the most popular consumer products on the market.
Top of the list: the Google Pixel phone, which is aimed squarely at the iPhone. …

For the phones

So far they have been relatively good on this front.

Relatively means - old phones and tablets can be bricked by specific up/down-grades (f.e. there are 3 bootloader updates for my 2012 Nexus 7 which brick it). There is no guarantee that the phone will remain usable after an update (just ask all the people who have rolled back Android 5 to 4 on the older Nexus 7s). It will however continue to be updated for a long time.

Not as good of a record as Apple (credit were credit is due - I am not a fan, but their support record for older hardware is quite good). It is however, the best record in the industry. Sony or Samsung - you get a couple of updates and that is it. Any of the tier 2 manufacturers - you might as well forget it.

This is however, Google's "flagship", there, you will get support and updates, it will not just abandon it because the marketing fallout will be immense. If you are with any other product, especially an acquired one - you are really alone with the wolves.

Re: How long until Google decides ...

Re: How long until Google decides ...

> ... so if you buy all your music from Apple, you cant port it to an android phone?

Of course you can. I do (regularly). I use a Mac, started off with an iPhone 4, migrated over to Android and still sync my music and photos between the Mac and my most recent Android (soon to be a OnePlus 3 - I currently have a Oneplus One).

Re: How long until Google decides ...

My phone has no interest in apps, or other stuff; it makes calls so why would everyone have to care about car apps, bank apps, and for that matter the heating needs no apps, just fingers. Interestingly so do phones, unless they have good voice control as the my present one does via its Blue-tooth headphone. The front door uses weird metal things, called keys, (yes plural). So no risk of my home having insecure hardware to be used for remote DDoS, turning the heating up to full blast or down to arctic levels, etc.

I would still like to find a use for a phone of this type as obtaining good batteries for my old one is becoming very hard.

Re: Read it and grin madly

2. This is closer to the fruit of Ive's imagination, though, much closer, actually, than to Braun's design (better known as "Ulm school of design" style, I think) I did not look closely, but the thing looks like an iphone.

Here, they have ripped off Apple's design more than ever and I know this is not a popular opinion on here. Sadly, when you rip off a design, you feed the lawyers ... don't do that, please!

Re: My thoughts exactly!

Still, there's only so much you can observe in 5 minutes which, frankly, is a pathetic amount of time given to journos.

Given that Google know how many people will attend, know how many phones they are providing, can do simple maths, it is clear that they INTENDED that journos would only get five minutes each to maul the device.

Presumably there's something in the package that they don't want to be reported before the handful of captive bloggers and tame reviewers have been able to offer gushing reviews to the world. My complete guess is that the "something" that might be discovered in more than a few minutes is to do with privacy, either in the licence agreement or device settings.

Yep - this is the phone to convert iOS users

My issue is that it's " the phone to convert iOS users" and not really the phone their existing market actually wanted.

And their conversion strategy was to make something that looks the same but is "slightly better" in every way.

Bluntly I can't see anybody switching to Android solely on the basis of a slightly better camera, battery, VR experience, voice activated assistant and all the rest. It might be better, but you need to offer more to get people to switch their existing OS.

As an existing Android user, I just feel "nice specs", but most of the features are software, which will be shortly available on equivalent phones costing half the price.

In summary I have no issue with the continuation of the 'Pixel' range representing high-end google stuff - what I resent is the killing of the Nexus brand.

Re: Yep - this is the phone to convert iOS users

An iPhone look alike? Quite possible - I thing that the quality and usability of the Google phones have been going downhill for several years now. OK, so the Nexus line is a bit old now but they still feel like good phones. These new ones look like iPhones - why would I want one of those?

Re: Yep - this is the phone to convert iOS users

Bluntly I can't see anybody switching to Android solely on the basis of a slightly better camera, battery, VR experience, voice activated assistant and all the rest. It might be better, but you need to offer more to get people to switch their existing OS.

.. like not spying on users, and making them agree to let you keep that data into perpetuity (you may want to actually read the conditions for a change). Not going to happen, not just because I value the privacy of my family but also I actually have a professional duty to protect my clients.

Re: Yep - this is the phone to convert iOS users

. like not spying on users, and making them agree to let you keep that data into perpetuity (you may want to actually read the conditions for a change). Not going to happen, not just because I value the privacy of my family but also I actually have a professional duty to protect my clients.

Like having a UI that isn't basically unchanged since the iPod Touch?

Like not being the "must have" for wannabe Beautiful People and the terminally uninformed?

Re: Fanboy alert

You don't understand it because it's science, not a paid review that you get elsewhere.

DXO is as trustworthy as it gets. All the methods and results are clearly explained, and there is no room to fake or fudge results. The only potential for payments, is "here have some money to review our phone", not the outcome. All products are measured in the same scientific way.

Re: Fanboy alert

What can you expect from a reviewer who gave 4 out of 5 stars for an Apple wireless keyboard that made his wrists ache, didn't connect to his Mac, and some of the keys didn't do what they were advertised to do.

Why this guy is reviewing anything not made by his fruity saviour, I have no idea.

"It's almost as if Google wrote down the top 10 reasons why people stick with Apple's pricier product and didn't stop until they'd crossed each one out"

And now its almost as if Nexus 5 owners looking to upgrade wrote down the main reason why they bought a Nexus 5 (i.e. sensibly priced fully supported Android phone) and realized that Google were no longer interested in their business. At £599+ a Pixel phone is not going to be on my list.

@ Champ The price ain't right.

Too right. Friend's seriously smashed up Nexus (of some vintage) was a cue for me to suggest a Moto G3 or G4 as happily owned by other friends. He found a G3 for £90 and while he thought it slightly slower than the Nexus, happy at the price.

Err, written by a fanboy who has not seen a decent android phone

Gawd, that was written by someone seriously brainwashed by the Apple church.

Best camera. Bollocks. Z4 has a better one and Huawei Honor has been shipping the same one for nearly half a year. This is "general purpose" devices in the same price bracket. Several "specialty phones" have been shipping with dual optics, etc which provide better pictures for nearly a year now.

Sure, it is loaded with latest Google OS which has improved quite a bit over the years and is now responsive even on mid-range phones. That for us who have been using it for the last years is NOT a revelation. I know it is for an Apple addict, but for the rest of the world it is not.

Re: Err, written by a fanboy who has not seen a decent android phone

As someone that has purchased and used several Android phones over the years, each time hoping they have fixed the UI that I can't stand, this article gave me hope that there actually is a decent Android phone out there for me. One that I could get along with.

Re: Err, written by a fanboy who has not seen a decent android phone

Ah, but it's the best camera according to DxO! Who do scientific measurements, and everything!

What I suspect we're starting to see is manufacturers gaming that system. Good stats don't necessarily make a good camera, especially if your output is JPEG. I can fix a lot with a good RAW converter/editor, and it's true that many phones now allow RAW shooting.

But let's be honest. It's a phone. You're going to want to shoot JPEG, so that you can actually use the photos. And that means that for all we know, this phone might use exactly the same sensor as the other phones it beat by a couple of points - but just has a different tone curve and a slightly less aggressive JPEG engine. Which would probably be just enough to gain a point here and a point there in the tests... and suddenly you're the best phone camera available!

The real killer item is the price

A couple of years ago when I first heard that the new Nexus 6 would be enormous I swore I wouldn't touch it - I was happy with my Nexus 5, which is still a beautiful little machine. But I did - I relented and paid £549 plus £10 delivery, and I don't regret it. The N6 is still a wonderful piece of kit.

But that was a one-off. No matter how great the Pixel camera is (I don't take that many photos), or how great Assistant is (I hate talking to inanimate objects because it makes me look and feel like a dork), there's no way in the world that I'll pay iSheep prices when there are other brilliant devices out there at a fraction of the Pixel price. Is either Pixel really worth £270 more than the Oneplus 3? Not to me it isn't...

Re: Uh... what?

> "Android is just as much of a lock-in as Apple."

Not really.

Think of Apple's walled garden being exactly that. A great, big, fuckoff wall. Some things (movies, music) you can take outside the wall with some fucking around, but your apps you can move to another manufacturers device.

Android is more like the standard wire fence topped with barbed wire. You can easily move between paddocks (manufacturers) with minimal of fuss. Music and movies tend not to be DRM'd either, and can be moved about without proprietary software.

Re: Uh... what?

Re: Uh... what?

"Have you ever tried using an Android phone without a Google account?"

Yes, sort of.

You are 'locked in' for the purpose of downloading [your] apps from the Play Store - so what I did was sign into my Google account to initially download the apps I use. There's no way to then sign out, so I then simply removed the account from the phone*.

If I ever want to download another app (or if I need to update an existing one), I'll have to sign in again, which is fair enough - but I'll then sign back out by removing the account again.

So it's a partial lock-in AFAIC - although my reason for doing it is pure tinfoil-hattery because of Google's slurpy reputation.

* Edit: To clarify, I say initially, but in practice, I only decided to do this a couple of months ago (ish) - so that initial period ran from when I bought the phone until then. So far, however, running without being signed in has not been a problem.

Re: Uh... what?

Yes, and all the functions on the phone work just fine. I can use the built in apps, I can use the Internet, and even the Email app. It's definitely works just fine.

You of course get more, if you do want the Google stuff, but it's perfectly optional. Android has no lock in at all. You aren't forced to use Google services, and you aren't forced to use Google hardware, you can pick from basically any other hardware manufacturer except Apple, all your stuff will continue to work just fine (most phones come with migration tools that don't assume Google services).

Re: Uh... what?

> Android is just as much of a lock-in as Apple.

Exactly, when I next decide to upgrade i'll stick to the same garden a) because all my stuff is already in that garden and b) going through the process of setting up a new phone with all the settings I've forgotten I've set over the years isn't appealing.

I'm thankful it doesn't. I would hate to be lumbered with the crap multitasking, battery hogging and insecure iOS.

Android is several generations ahead in most areas, and apple are trying (and failing) to play catch-up.

Can you even transfer files by Bluetooth on iOS yet? Can you one tap NFC pairing yet? Dies iOS have scheduled long running background services yet? Can I set my own ringtone? Can I use my own launcher? The list is endless

Can you even transfer files by Bluetooth on iOS yet? Can you one tap NFC pairing yet? Dies iOS have scheduled long running background services yet? Can I set my own ringtone? Can I use my own launcher? The list is endless

The above suggests you have never actually been near an iOS device, let alone tried to use one. Even the most basic Internet research would have shown you that quite a number of those assertions are wrong, so I call "Trump" on your comment.

I hope...

..they didn't copy the gawdawful iPhone keyboard. Swype works great.

I actually really like the Android OS quite a bit. Having to support iPhones at work, it's iOS that feels awfully clunky and dated to me. It seems like Apple always bakes in features that they think are innovative but have little practical use for most people.

Re: I hope...

Hmm... gotta say... I've been using Android phone since it first came out; currently with a paid-off T-Mobile G3 running 6.0.

I have to say I've tried 3 or 4 Android keyboards, including Swype and have found them all awful.

I also assumed iPhone keyboards must be better, but maybe not. I suspect all cell-phone keyboards are awful. I wish we could get a built-in stylus and use Grafiti, like the early Palms. (I once had a Samsung with a mechanical keyboard, and didn't like it either.)

A finger banging or sliding across a small LED screen is a terrible input method.

Re: I hope...

There is a graffiti keyboard, and you can get a capacitive stylus - I've not seen a case with a pen-slot though.

That said, now that I have been Swyping since WM days, I am much faster than I ever was even with the physical BB or Palm keyboard. I became a Swype convert when I realized I could type to around 80% accuracy without looking at the phone at all - even with the physical keyboards I had a hard time with that.

I want split storage. I want all my photos and videos and apps on an SD card , and absolutely nothing on the internal storage, so I'll have room for OS updates. how annoying is it to have to start deleting stuff so you can do an upgrade? Keep all your stuff on SD, and that polices itself.

You obviously haven't used Android 6 or 7. SD cards are now mounted as RAID 0 so you have contiguous storage. Of course, SD cards are not made to the same standard as the built-in flash so you risk losing all your stuff when it fails but that's a different issue..

You obviously haven't used Android 6 or 7.

Neither have you. The OS supports it, try and find a manufacturer that DOES it. You won't. The reason being, SD storage is massively slower, nobody wants a dog slow phone. No amount of fast SD card will make up for slow external SD interfaces.

Re: You obviously haven't used Android 6 or 7.

Not that much slower if you buy a card with good speed ratings. Try using a UHS-1 or better rated SD card and you'll find yourself rarely wanting. Plus it keeps data safe from factory resets and facilitates easy migration when it's time to switch phones.

What's the obsession with battery and SD cards? My Nexus is now 3 years old, and battery is perfect. I also fail to grasp my you would waste your time trying to fit your entire digital life on your phones really slow, split storage as card, waiting for someone to grab if you ever lose it.

32gb is more than enough for smartly pinned offline content, on the rare occasion you arent online.

Clearly...

...you've never wanted to take a bunch of movies on holidays / business trips, or have a bunch of cartoons to hand to keep the kids happy when stuck in a traffic jam. And no, I would not want to accidentally access Pixel's cloud storage when on roaming rates...

Re: Clearly...

> ...you've never wanted to take a bunch of movies on holidays / business trips

..and can't work out how to put your phone into USB host mode.. (I have a largeish USB SSD and a small extension cable - plug it into the bottom of my phone in USB host mode and move stuff to and fro.).

Re: Clearly...

What's the obsession with battery and SD cards? My Nexus is now 3 years old, and battery is perfect. I also fail to grasp my you would waste your time trying to fit your entire digital life on your phones really slow, split storage as card, waiting for someone to grab if you ever lose it.

Well I know what my obsession is with non-removable batteries, especially when the phone is as expensive as this. Given my recent run-in with an expanding overheated battery in my otherwise sealed Honor 6 unit, although I managed to replace it myself for the price of a replacement battery, I know exactly what my obsession is. (So do quite a large number of recent Samsung users!)

As for this continual harping on about "split storage", I still don't trust any cloud provider with my data. I have enough to do keeping my browsing out of the grubby mitts of people like Google and slimes like the NSA without all that.

At Planty re 32Gigs.

I've got enough audio books to nearly fill a 256Gb SD card. I've got over 1.5Tb of music. I've got enough e.books to choke a server. There's no way in hell I can eviscerate all that media down to a mere 32Gb, especially not if that space also has to store apps, app data, OS updates, etc. Even the 128Gb model isn't enough, especially if you ever end up in areas of no cell coverage, no wifi coverage, & must therefor rely upon only what's in the phone at the time. "But there's ubiquitous coverage everywhere!" is such a load of shite you need to be bitch slapped. NO it is NOT ubiquitous. Maybe where YOU live but not in 90% of the rest of the world. Outside a freeway corridore, major metropolitan area (& sometimes not even there given dead zones), or outside the carrier's actual store, you can't count on being able to connect at all to "the cloud". No cloud means no streaming, no syncing, & no getting your media from anywhere not already on the phone. So what to do then? Will you be happy with what's on your phone *right now*? Because that's it, no signal means no more options.

Don't scoff at the desire for expandable storage. There are more reasons to want it than mere capacity in the phones. Once you're strapped into the bus/plane/train seat & see that you've got zero signal, THEN you'll understand the desire to be able to take "your digital life with you".

They also copied the price

Android fans constantly complain about several things about the iPhone: 1) lack of SD slot, 2) lack of removable battery, 3) overly large bezel, 4) high price - even the $100 premium to move up to the next storage tier

This phone copied all four of those features exactly from the iPhone, so if Android fans go gaga over it, they've never got any room to complain about Apple again. :)

Awww thats sad

Sad they had to copy the iPhone 4 to get sales of the thing. Cross out the privacy issues with anything Google related and the bloated interface of what Android is and maybe I'll think about it. But now with that old design I'd rather have an iPhone 7. Can't do its copy, the Samsung line as they explode. So iPhone 7 it is!

Re: Awww thats sad

1) Rubbish. All phones look very similar these days, that's what happens when designing following the concept of minimalism. The designers put on their big boy pants and stop faffing around with stupid bodywork that serves no purpose.

2) Turn off personalized ads. I seem to recall Apple advertises too, don't they? If they're not doing some sort of analytics they're not getting much for their impressions because they're poorly targeted. If they -are- ... oh dear. That would make them the same as Google.

Re: Awww thats sad

The only thing Apple does with targeted advertising is that it has its own ad network that is an option for developers to use in iPhone apps. Those apps don't get any personally identifying info unless you give it to them. Most use other advertising networks because they are less picky about the ads that allowed and the information they're allowed to use (i.e. the others are more willing to screw you over, so they pay better)

Re: Awww thats sad

No you are right, Google doesn't actually sell the raw data that they are collecting from you every second of the day. More like they sell data and services derived from the common pool of data collected.

They do however still themselves know an extraordinary amount of data about anybody who routinely uses any of their services, even indirectly, and they are manoeuvring themselves into a position where they are the expert on every nuance of information about you.

Re: Awww thats sad

What's sad, is Apple sell your data too, you just don't realise it. You somehow think payign £200 over the odds for your mid-range Apple thing somehow means they don't sell your data. Go read the privacy policies, they are doing EXACTLY the same as Google (and Microsoft, and Facebook, and Yahoo, and Linked-In, and Twitter).

Re: Sigh.The Cloud.

Exactly. Unless you have unlimited bandwidth with no data caps, throttling, or roaming charges then this isn't a viable option. The fact that many cellular carriers charge exorbitant prices for bandwidth, have stupidly low data caps, charge even more for roaming data use, & generally rape you for daring to want to USE your data plan, Google's offer of supposedly unlimited storage is pointless. We can't afford to USE any of it, will die of old age before most of our data can be transferred "to the cloud", & that all assumes that we have a signal with which to synch. Here in the States it's notoriously crappy anywhere other than along a freeway corridore, in a major metro area, or inside the carrier store itself. The moment you leave the freeway, go outside the city, or exit their store your signal goes to shit. If you only have one bar & are forced into 2G/3G modes then you're not going to be doing anything "in the cloud" anytime soon. It'll take you longer to read your email than your battery will last, so uploading that 12MegaPixel image isn't gonna happen.

The fact that it has no SD capability so we can take our music, movies, & files with us on trips that won't have adequate coverage (or any at all) other than the onboard storage that will fill up quickly with apps, games, & OS updates, that pretty much kills it right there. If we can't GET a signal then we can't stream music, Netflix, or anything else to keep us busy on that long plane flight. (Don't assume there will be cell/wifi on the plane, nor that they won't charge you out the arse to access it.)

*Sigh* Google, you were SO close with this phone. An SD slot, removable battery, & a price that didn't feel like an Apple raping... Evidently you decided to not merely emulate the fruity fucker but BECOME them. Pity. I guess I'll keep my money rather than give it to you...

Re: Sigh.The Cloud.

If people only accessed data through their cellphone service then yes, but all that unlimited storage is available to you when you connect using the WiFi. I rarely have to go on the mobile data for anything significant. There is so much WiFi, home, office, high street.

Kieren, I love you

The new Pixel phones are available to order now.

Not a needless prefix in sight. Can someone please pass the memo on the other hacks?

As for the review: not sure what slide notifications or quick access to settings are but I think Android had both before IOS. The two OS have been growing closer together in look and feel since Apple dropped the skeuomorphic shit.

Re: SD cards and Batteries

IOW, a docking station. Not a bad idea if one existed, but last I checked you can't use USB on the go AND charge at the same time unless you use USB Type-C. So for listening to music on an external device for a transoceanic flight, you're in a dilemma.

Re: For Google, Europe, as usual...

Since the beginning: If it doesn't have an SD-card slot, I'm not interested.

Since the beginning: If the bootloader and recovery are locked in a way that I can't unlock, I'm not interested.

I honestly hate Sony with a passion (for their bloatware, ad-ware, business practices and DRM and "acquisitive" corporate anti-competitive strategy...) but I have to say that I have high hopes for Sony's open device programme. I am stuck on an old Xperia Z1 for the moment, but it's rooted and that makes it brilliant - everything just works and the bloatware is gone. It has all of the three features mentioned above and would work out the box for consumer use, too.

All I want is more of the same - better batteries and Gorilla Glass for longevity.

Oh... and Android had that notification bar with the ability to swipe down (and then in various other directions for various other effects) while iOS was still showing modal pop-up dialogue boxes and Apple were still trying to convince the user-base that true multi-tasking wasn't a real requirement. Get your facts straight!

Motorola

Read the fine print

Using Google's cloud storage, read the fine print. You are prohibited from storing a long list of prohibited content, begging the question how would they know and why would they care? Perhaps because they're a bit too generous with sharing your files with the world.

When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones. This license continues even if you stop using our Services (for example, for a business listing you have added to Google Maps).

Re: Read the fine print

I'd almost like to buy one of these, just to use the unlimited space to store a folder called - Dossier On How Google Are Taking Over The World. I'd just fill it with every piece of nefarious dealing they do over the years, and make plans for submitting the work as evidence in a trial to get google's business practices stopped.

I read that and for some reason it felt like there are rather sinister overtones. I'm sure I'm wrong though...they wouldn't really be offering to store all of my stuff, just so they can mine my personal data in order to sell targeted advertising.....would they?

Why does it have to be an iPhone killer? I hate that term. Feels like companies are always trying to beat Apple and 'kill them'. Well since the iPhone seems to be the bar everyone tries to beat, may as well just have an iPhone.

One day the competition might just get on with trying to do their best instead of trying to compare them selves to Apple all the time, but no, they must make iPhone killers, iPad killers or Macbook killers.

@David Lawton

The iPhone was killed a while ago. They make up less than 10% of new sales. The rest are Android with the rest hidden in the rounding error somewhere.

iPhones are generally a couple of years behind technically. The interface screen looks pretty much the same as it did when it was on the iPod Touch. It has been happily copying what it sees as good ideas from other peoiple but not a decent UI.

Nobody is copying Apple but if they want to copy others, this may help.

Re: @David Lawton

Eh? Technically behind?

They're updated every year mate. There's only so much innovation you can do until technology limits new ideas on the software side. So no surprise they're copying each other. The golden era is over. The iOS UI doesn't get changed radically to not piss off users. It works fine. Android on the other hand is annoying. The only Android experience I have to put up with is the gaming console thing I have that has KitKat. Ouch.

So let me get this straight...

Having pretty much hardwired their services into Android, Google are now bringing out their hardware own hardware to run it on.

Doubtless the next step will be very similar to how they forced Chrome up to the number 1 browser spot - a very obvious call-to-action on their search results page (with Chrome for Android and Google search being the defaults, natch), saying "why not upgrade your handset to a faster, more secure, more reliable model?" and linking through to the store.

After that, maybe a few zero-day issues in new versions of Android that get fixed overnight on the Pixel handsets while everyone else is forced to languish?

And to top it all off - "unlimited cloud storage". That's a double whammy of pushing everyone towards the Google cloud, while also effectively undercutting the competition - tantamount to the anticompetitive, widely illegal practice of predatory pricing.

Copying Apple would loose them money

Whilst there are certainly a lot of reasons to buy Android phones - price, functionality, battery etc - there is some reasons to not buy Apple including Apple business practices, being treated like a moron, restrictions and so on. One of the biggest is that their phones look #shiny and distinctly dated. Many Android users might keep away from something that aped what they are happily not using.

I have not seem many pictures but, fortunately, it does not look like an iThing. It looks like a phone. Glass on one side, metal or whatever on the other, rounded corners(!) and so on.

phone range

Get some publicity with an iPhone clone if you want Google, but a range of models with more affordable prices would have been nice

Would far sooner see additional Google phone at an attractive price (and with SD slot as must have) rather than something copying iPhone high price , lack of card slot (though Google have track record of no SD card on their phones - e.g. see Nexus)

Happy to have a bit of plastic, bog standard camera (I have a proper camera, all phone camera will do is take the odd snap / cat video style of junk so no need for best in class quality)

Cheap and cheerful android with space for media on SD (streaming needs decent signal & eats costly bandwidth, handy to have phone doubling as MP3 player) and regular security updates is all I need (and doubt I am alone with such simple needs) without the warranty voiding of root & modded ROM.

I like lots of Google things

Re: I like lots of Google things

Every giant corporation of America does because of the mentality that money is the primacy of life.

A lot of companies around the world also follow the same principles, although they are often more subtle about it than their US counterparts. Companies around the world love to shaft you, American companies are just the same, with the bonus that they like to tell you how they will shaft you.

No Google Stores

Google have seen chumps buying iPhones and thought premium price land here we come.. but they haven't got a Google shop in every premium shopping centre, staffed by people insane enough to patiently listen and help chumps who can't configure their home WiFi and send them away to be fixed when they breakdown. That's what people are paying the i-premium for and that's fair enough, I can see the appeal... but Google has none of this infrastructure and never will.

Android users want premium phones at half the price, and companies like Xiaomi and OnePlus produce phones. The Pixel specs, despite what the author thinks, are pretty mid-range, and indeed the materials, you get premium metal cases for a lot lot less.

Re: This is not how you make an iPhone killer

Removable battery? Meh... Replaceable batteries FTW!

Don't really care if the battery is removable or not. What I would like to see is a battery that is easily *replaceable* when it reaches the end of life, without having to crack the case open with specialist tools and/or send it back to a manufacturer.

Your battery could lose around 25% of capacity within 9 months or so of charge-discharge cycles, and I tend to find after about 18 months that it's annoying me enough to look at doing something about it. I'd like the option to get a new, genuine battery fitted that wouldn't cost half the price of a new phone to sort out.

Of course, the irony of owning a Samsung phone and wanting a genuine battery is not lost on me at this point...